-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Most parents have felt the pain of having a missing child , if only for a few seconds .

They lose sight of their child at the park or at the grocery store or at the mall . Fortunately for most moms and dads , as soon as the knot forms in their stomach , they lock eyes with their kid .

But for the parents of the hundreds of thousands of children who go missing each year , that pain is much deeper ; for some , there is never relief .

Working in the media , I 've followed the cases that get national attention . I 've watched the press conferences and the family statements .

Last week , however , I had the heart-wrenching experience of finding out what happens in between the media updates -- what it feels like when this is real life .

A sweet 14-year-old girl who babysat my son in the church nursery was missing .

She 'd left home without her parents ' permission to meet up with a boy she connected with online . That was on Monday . The boy said he never went to their rendezvous point , a park , and as of Thursday , the young girl still had not come home .

The days in between were grueling for those involved in the search . I can not fathom the depth of emotion her parents experienced .

Hope in the search for missing children

Police never suspected foul play and thought the girl might have run away .

That scenario was both frustrating and encouraging . It was frustrating because the family did not think she intended to be gone long . She did n't bring anything with her . No phone , no keys , no money . It was encouraging because it was the best case scenario . Maybe she `` just '' ran away . Maybe she was fine -- angry , confused , and unaware of how loved she is -- but fine .

The conversations that unfolded were surreal . We talked to a detective about the possibility she was involved in sex trafficking or abducted or even worse . We had to avoid focusing on the `` what ifs '' in order to stay focused on the search .

When word got out , the community rallied around the missing teen and her family . We plastered the city with fliers and canvassed her last known whereabouts . People who had never met the family joined the search . Dozens of homeless people in the area helped out . As the story spread on social media , people around the world sent words of support .

Those of us on the ground did everything we could think of , all while having no idea what we were doing .

Three days after the girl went missing , I was helping plan a prayer vigil . We did n't know where to begin . There was no guide . We `` guessed '' the parents should speak first , before things got too emotional . But what should they say ? How do we get the word out ? How long should it go ? We did n't know the answers to these questions .

The prayer vigil never happened . About an hour before it was to begin , the young girl was located . She had run away , and she was home now .

For the media , that 's where the story ends . A quick update to tell local TV viewers everything is OK .

Opinion : Most missing persons cases do n't have happy endings

For the friends assisting with the search , there was a huge sense of relief . There were hugs , tears , and then the exhaustion and gravity of the week hit . We laughed -- about how much trouble this girl is in , about how much wine we planned to drink .

After this experience , I 'll never look at news of a missing child the same .

I will hold this experience close the next time an e-mail about a missing child crosses my inbox .

I will remember the reality behind the story .

Each missing child poster represents a family in heartache and a community at a loss .

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When a child goes missing , a community comes together

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CNN editor Kristi Ramsay participated in search for missing girl

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You have to ignore `` what if '' scenarios in order to stay focused , she says

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Behind every missing child poster is a similar heartache